Thursday, February 28, 2013

Writing Again. ^.^

And since this is my "Creative Blog" one would assume that I'd have updated it with that information... right? Well, I'm not that "On the Ball" yet... but I'm getting there. ;P

Sooooo... that Advent of Indies thing... yeah... December was a crazy month filled not only with the usual hustle and bustle of the "Holidays", but also a large sum of "Extra" hours at work, and even the joys of looking for, and changing jobs... So I kind of dropped the ball there. Alas, it seems that there is no surer way for me to fail at a project than to announce it in writing... All except for one, which I am proud to say I have kept to for the entirety of the year thus far.

Right on the First of the year, one of my friends had mentioned that she was going to take a photo a day for the year. Now... I'm no photographer. I mean, my Dad was, and I've had a childhood filled with "Family Photos" being set up, "Just So"... so I'm a little more in tune with it than some, but it's certainly not something I've ever felt "Called to".

That said, for some reason, when I read about her project, I was 'Inspired' and decided to take on the challenge as well. I am aware that 'Part' of it was the fact that for the last couple months I 'have' kind of wanted to take pictures 'On the Side', and another 'Part' would be the fact that this Christmas the "Household Gift" was a new DSLR, but that alone wouldn't have drawn out the crazy in me.

A "Larger" part of this project, for me, is that along with each shot, I'm making myself write 2+ Paragraphs... about the shot, about what's going on in my life, sometimes just 'Off the Cuff' ramblings from my thoughts. This has been amazingly inspiring for me. Typically, I try to make myself write, but then 'Real Life' gets in the way, and whatever project I'm trying to work on peters off. But this time.. there are even more variables that have been working in my favor.

First, I've been working on a Fan Fiction (Yes, another one. ;P) for awhile now. It's been on and off for the last year, and I'm ecstatic at the fact that I've been able to keep myself working on it when I get the chance. So, my writing has been pseudo consistent for a little bit anywho.

Second, One of the things that has killed my "I'm going to start writing" urges has been the lack of 'Inspiration'. I'm a workaholic, and not a lot happens in my day to day that's worth writing about. Sure I think sometimes 'Interesting' things, sure I have sometimes 'Interesting' experiences... but neither of these is predictable, and 'Most' of the time my schedule is / was... "Wake up and Rush to Work -> Work for 12+ Hours sometimes split across Jobs -> Come Home and eat my meal for the day -> "Maybe" spend some time trying to get things done around the house OR attempt some entertainment -> Sleep -> Rinse, Reuse, Ad Nauseum.

So having to first come up with (Though that happens "Last Second due to late nights at work most of the time. :?) a photo idea, but then to take it and post it gives me 'At Least' that to write about if nothing else. And thanks to this shift in Daily Planning, I've actually gotten accustomed to looking around me with a more 'Visually Inquisitive' Eye. I've always been able to pull stories out of the air, and likely always will (Not that all of them are 'Interesting' ;P), but I will admit that until recently the 'Natural Beauty' of the world around me has mostly gone by unnoticed. So in a little way, that helps to inspire me too.

All that said, There is one additional element that has helped this transition. Even as I type this, I am 'At Work'. I realized long ago that my "Workaholic" nature was killing my Creative Output. Now... I've tried in small ways to counter that.. but it always ends up boiling down to time / energy running out before I can get home and actually "Create". So I made a decision that 'This Year' I would either cut my work schedule to the bone (Work 'Just Enough' that I could pay my bills and not a moment more), so that I would have more time / energy, or that I would move into a job that allowed me the opportunity to "Create" even as I worked. I managed to luck into the latter... and this has been the best choice I've made in a long time. ^.^

Anywho, the long winded point here is that yes, I am writing again, yes, I am 'Creating Again' and I have the unusually good feeling that 'This Time' it will stick. In previous attempts I've never felt compelled to 'Write Even More' than I'd intended... and now, I can't help it. ;P